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SECTION27 is a public interest law centre that uses and develops the law to advance human rights.
After a very successful first year, SECTION27 has revised and updated its Prospectus to reflect its current activities, areas of work and vision. We have also completed a 30 minute film called Making Rights Real, that documents how SECTION27 (and our predecessor the ALP) have used the law, legal advocacy and litigation to advance human rights to HIV treatment, health and education in South Africa. 
On the 8th of June 2011 the Kwazulu-Natal High Court handed down judgment in the case of Langalakhe Ncengokwakhe Njoko v Minister of Safety and Security. In the judgment the court accepted evidence of Professor Francois Venter, President of the HIV/AIDS Clinicians Society, on the life expectancy of people living with HIV who are on anti-retroviral treatment. 
Are you a lawyer in government, civil society or private practice? Do you have an interest in understanding or using the law and human rights in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic? Or are you a senior manager in government, a health activist, a health journalist or a health care provider with a similar interest? If yes, then consider registering for a certificate course in HIV/AIDS and the law offered by the Mandela Institute (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) in collaboration with SECTION27. Act fast: the closing date for registration is Friday, 8 July 2011; classes start on Monday, 25 July 2011 at 17h30. 
SECTION27 seeks a self-motivated attorney with excellent legal and research skills to work in the organisation’s Legal Services and Litigation Department. SECTION27’s legal work focuses primarily on access to healthcare services; improved access to basic education and nutrition; and the reform and regulation of health systems in the public and private spheres. 
On 7 June 2011 Mark Heywood and Mandisa Dlamini (the daughter of Gugu Dlamini) jointly delivered the Nkosi Johnson Memorial lecture at the opening of the 5th South African AIDS Conference. They drew attention to the crisis facing young people in South Africa and the need to link HIV prevention and care to the struggle for the right to a basic education in South Africa. 
With the vitally important UN High Level meeting on AIDS only one week away, the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) has issued an important resolution setting out the country’s position in the negotiations for a renewed commitment to HIV and TB. 
Joint SECTION27/TAC statement Transparent governance, free expression and a free press are essential components of democracy. They are the means by which all people in South Africa, especially the vulnerable and poor, can hold our government to account. Our effectiveness at getting the state to implement HIV treatment and prevention programmes has been dependent on the Constitution being upheld, especially the Bill of Rights. 
On 8–10 June, 2011, key stakeholders from all over the world will gather in New York to review progress of the global response to HIV/AIDS and to plan the way forward. This forum has the potential to reinvigorate the commitment to HIV/AIDS nationally and internationally. In light of this, on 20 May, SECTION27, TAC, Médecins Sans Frontières, the World AIDS Campaign and the AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa sent a letter to the Director General for Health calling on the South African government to take the lead in setting ambitious and measurable targets, and encouraging similar commitments from other UN member states.
In the last week there has been much controversy regarding a report on municipal audit outcomes, with particular focus having been placed on allegations in the press that the report was returned to the National Treasury for it to be “repackaged” and not released in the run-up to the local government elections on 18 May 2011. This has been strongly denied by government. Whatever the truth, SECTION27 takes the view that this largely distracting sideshow has masked the real underlying issues. |
 
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Legal advice
Understanding NHI